Current, Ex-Kentucky Governors Battle Over Health Law Legacy

As Republicans in Congress prepare to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's health care law, Kentucky's current governor and his predecessor are wrestling over the law's legacy -- and both sides claim the state as a case study of the law's impact.

Credit Associated Press

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Former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear embraced the Affordable Care Act, expanding Kentucky's Medicaid program and setting up a state-run health insurance exchange. But Matt Bevin, Beshear's Republican successor, dismantled the state exchange and applied for a waiver to overhaul Medicaid, aiming to move people off the publicly-funded program and onto private insurance plans.

Their public feud was on display to a national audience Tuesday night, when Republican President Donald Trump quoted Bevin in a speech before Congress. Democrats turned to Beshear to give a nationally televised response.

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